Ethereum wallet

How do I create an Ethereum (ETH) wallet?

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Creating an ethereum wallet

It’s very important to manage your ethers safely. We assist in buying and selling ethers, but you are responsible for managing them yourself. This is the beauty of cryptocurrency: you are your own bank!

How do you manage your ethers? You create an ethereum wallet, which is similar to a digital bank account for your cryptocurrency. Luckily, creating one is rather simple. On this page we’ll explain all the ins and outs of creating an ethereum wallet.

What’s an ether wallet?

An ethereum wallet is similar to a digital bank account for sending, receiving, and managing your ether. You can use our platform to buy or sell ether, however, we do not manage your coins for you. You do this yourself in your ether wallet.

What’s an ether receiving address?

Each wallet has its own receiving address. This is a unique sequence of numbers and letters, that always start with 0x. It’s similar to a bank account number. Would you like to receive ether? Then you provide the sender with your receiving address. Would you like to send ether to another wallet? Then you need the receiving address of the recipient.

This is an example of an ether address: 0x1D1479C185d32EB90533a08b36B3CFa5F84A0E6B.

Which ethereum wallet should I choose?

There are different possibilities to manage your ether. Each wallet has its own characteristics and there are different levels in ease of use and safety. There are online wallets that can be accessed through a website; software wallets which you download onto your computer; and hardware wallets, these are physical devices that you connect to your computer.

Which ether wallet you choose depends on several factors. Have you just started trading in cryptocurrencies, or are you more experienced? Would you like to buy a small amount, or invest a large sum? In the overview below you can see which wallet is suitable for your situation.

Online wallet
Beginner
Myetherwallet.com

Software wallet
Advanced
Exodus.io

Hardware wallet
Pro
Ledger Nano S

Pros:

Very user-friendly

Free of charge

Low maintanance

Pros:

Supports multiple coins

Private key is saved slightly more secure on computer instead of online

Pros:

Safest wallet

Supports multiple coins

Offline storage of your private keys

Cons:

Private key is saved online: be careful with amounts over 500 euros

Does not have 2-FA option to secure the wallet

Cons:

Does not have 2-FA option to secure the wallet

Desktop only

Cons:

Not very user-friendly

Needs to be updated (manually) once in a while

How do I create an online ether wallet?

Creating an online ether wallet is easy, one of the most frequently used ones is MyEtherWallet.

Below, you can see how to create a wallet at MyEtherWallet:

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Navigate to myetherwallet.com. Make sure your connection is secure so that you can start creating your wallet safely. Creating the wallet starts with choosing your password. Then, you download the Keystore File (UTC/JSON). You don’t need to open this file, but it is very important to store it safely on your computer. Together with your password, you use this file to log into your ethereum wallet.

Next, your private key is shown. This is a sequence of letters and numbers, which functions as a backup of your wallet. Even if you lose your password or the Keystore File, you still have access to your wallet with your private key. Needless to say, it’s important to store this safely. Printing it out onto a piece of paper is a secure method.

Safety and backup

You are responsible for storing your ether safely. So it’s important to keep your digital wallet safe, just like you would your physical wallet. If your wallet isn’t properly secured, hackers might be able to access it and steal your coins.

The best way to keep your wallet safe is to store your private key offline. Print it out and store the document safely. Do not take a picture since most devices are connected to the internet, and therefore vulnerable to hackers.

Note: a much used safety measure is Two Factor Authentication (2-FA). Unfortunately, MyEtherWallet does not offer this option.

How do I send and receive ether?

When you buy ether, you want to make sure you receive them correctly. That’s why it’s important to use the receiving address from your wallet.

The receiving address
In most wallets, you can find the receiving address by clicking the button ‘Receive’. In MyEtherWallet however, you click ‘View Wallet Info’ and log into your wallet. You can find your ether address below ‘Account Address’ and ‘Your Address’.

An ether receiving address always starts with 0x. This is an example: 0x2b4d87eff06f22798c30dc4407c7d83429aa9abc. Whilst in most bitcoin wallets the address can change, the receiving address for an ethereum wallet always stays the same.

Have you previously bought ethers at BTC Direct? Then you can find your receiving address in your transaction history as well. Log in at our website and navigate to the transaction history.

Receiving
To receive ether in your wallet, copy the receiving address from your wallet or from your transaction history at BTC Direct. Then, paste the address on the order form of BTC Direct. Below you can see how the buying process works:

Sending
Sending ether is just as easy! Click ‘Send Ether & Tokens’ and log into your wallet. Enter the receiving address you’ve copied from the recipient. Fill in the amount you would like to send and confirm.

Take into account that for each transaction a transaction fee must be paid. This is a contribution to the Ethereum network for processing your transaction. You can consult Ether Gas station to determine whether you would like to increase or decrease the transaction fee. However, in most cases, the default setting is sufficient.

Please note!
For receiving as well as sending ether, always copy and paste the receiving address. Don’t write or type the address. This lowers the risk of making a mistake. All cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible: once the coins have been sent, there’s no way of getting them back.

Summary

You now know what an ethereum wallet is and how to create one. You’ve learned what a receiving address is and how to use it when you want to purchase ether. We have also explained how to secure your wallet.

Do you have any more questions about securing your wallet, or about wallets in general? Feel free to contact us, we’re happy to help!

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